Nirav Modi Not Alone, Here’s A List Of Other Offenders Who Fled Country

While Vijay Mallya fled to London, Lalit Modi is in UK, Deepak Talwar in UAE and Sanjay Bhandari is reported to have fled the country via Nepal.

Vijay Mallya faces several cases in India, where his companies have defaulted on loans of around Rs 9,000 crore from Indian banks (File photo)

New Delhi: As Punjab National Bank named jewellery designer Nirav Modi as the prime accused in fraudulent transactions worth Rs 11,360 crore, here’s a look at other billionaires of the country with a similar track record.

Vijay Mallya: The liquor baron faces several cases in India, where his companies have defaulted on loans of around Rs 9,000 crore from Indian banks. In March 2016, several banks approached the Supreme Court to stop Mallya from going abroad due to the money he owed them. He had, however, left by then. He is still in London and good times continue to be still rolling for him as a UK court just tripled his weekly allowance. He was arrested late last year hours after which he was given bail. He called the fuss around his arrest as ‘usual Indian media buzz.’

Lalit Modi: In 2010, Modi let out ownership details of Kochi IPL team, which was going to be a new addition to the series. He was sent show cause notices for breaching confidentiality and was sacked eventually. He fled to England citing threats to his family’s safety. In 2011, his passport was revoked. The ED got a blue corner Interpol notice against him for breaching rules related to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) during the time he was the IPL chief. He continues to be in the UK and challenged the ED’s notice in a London court.

Deepak Talwar: The Income Tax Department has filed five prosecution complaints against corporate consultant Deepak Talwar for allegedly receiving kickbacks worth hundreds of crores of rupees in individual and corporate bank accounts controlled by him and his family members in various tax jurisdictions, including tax havens, across the world. According to I-T officials, the investigation shows that undue favour was given to certain airlines and aviation companies under the supervision of senior officials in erstwhile UPA government. he fled India much before the cases could go anywhere. He is currently in UAE, where he has been barred from leaving the country.

Sanjay Bhandari: The I-T Department had been carrying out an investigation against Bhandari and the offset company in a tax evasion case when they stumbled upon the confidential papers and copies of documents of the defence ministry during the raids. The documents were allegedly related to defence purchases and proposals placed before the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC). There were also allegedly copies of minutes of the Contract Negotiation Committee meeting for purchasing refuellers. Earlier this year, a Delhi court declared controversial arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari as a proclaimed offender in an Official Secrets Act case related to the recovery of confidential documents of the Ministry of Defence from his residence during an IT raid in 2016. He is reported to have fled the country via Nepal.